Praveeni Senanayake
Praveeni is from Sri Lanka and has experience in education, community building, youth empowerment, operations management and communications
About Praveeni
Academic background
Bachelor of Arts, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (Sociology, Psychology, English).
Areas of interest
Education, skills development, adult education, youth empowerment, sustainable development, education and 21st century skills as tools for peacebuilding .
Languages spoken
English, Singhalese, French (beginner).
Praveeni Senanayake
Praveeni's story
Praveeni Senanayake is passionate about supporting youth realise their true potential and empower changemakers to secure sustainable livelihoods, foster inclusive development and social justice within their communities. Towards this, she plans to explore areas of education and skill-building as a tool for youth empowerment, community and peace building.
Praveeni has experience in education, community building, youth empowerment, operations management and communications through her work at the British Council, American Corner under the US Embassy in Sri Lanka, ClimateLaunchpad - the world’s largest green business ideas competition, HomeTree Coworking - Sri Lanka’s first mindfulness focused coworking space, Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT Campus), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Deep Work Programme and an e-learning organisation.
She was also the module lead for English Communication Skills and a visiting lecturer for Professional Development at the Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT Campus) for undergraduates following the degree at the University of Westminster, UK.
Her last engagement was with vulnerable youth communities in her home city where she taught English through topics like fast fashion, changing ideas of beauty, discrimination, and future of work at the education and cultural centre of the US Embassy in Sri Lanka. Through this programme, Praveeni was able to cultivate confidence in her students to speak out about social causes, while developing their language competencies.
In addition, she runs a youth skill training organisation ‘Cambiumh’ she co-founded in 2018 through which they have organised many skill building, professional development and climate change awareness programmes over the years.
She has volunteered with AIESEC (Vice-President People Management and Outgoing Global Talent, preparing volunteers for social projects based on the Sustainable Development Goals with international co-operators), Rotaract, JICA, TEDx and was an exchange volunteer in Indonesia working with high school students to create awareness on leading a sustainable lifestyle. She has received training from Al Gore’s Climate Reality programme, Solutions Journalism Network and through the Commonwealth of Learning scholarship.